Saturday, September 23
Charleston, S.C.
8:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
vs
NC State
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
No. 1 Mountaineers Open Season
September 22, 2017 10:40 AM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opens its 2017-18 season against No. 9 NC State on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 8 a.m., at The Citadel's Inouye Marksmanship Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Home to the 2018 NCAA Rifle Championships, The Citadel will play host to several teams over the course of the next two days. While three additional teams will be shooting alongside the Mountaineers Saturday, WVU only will compete against the Wolfpack, a Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) foe.
"One of our biggest goals for this weekend is to see the range and to get the experience of competing where the NCAA Championships will be," 12-year Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "Obviously, we want to start the season and our GARC season strong, but we want to use this weekend as a research trip, too, and do as much preparation as we can for postseason."
The Mountaineers are 18-0 all-time against the Wolfpack. The team opened its 2016-17 GARC season in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a 4709-4671 win over the Wolfpack on Oct. 15. WVU has won the last eight GARC Championships.
The five-time reigning NCAA Champion, four All-Americans return for WVU this season in senior Elizabeth Gratz, junior Ginny Thrasher and sophomores Milica Babic and Morgan Phillips. Babic and Phillips are the reigning NCAA air rifle and smallbore champion, respectively, and Thrasher swept the individual titles at the 2016 National Championships.
A native of Springfield, Virginia, Thrasher, a 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, paced the Mountaineers last year with season averages of 596.1 air rifle and 589.2 smallbore.
Also returning this season for WVU are junior Will Anti, sophomore Jack Anderson and redshirt-freshman Noah Barker. The team will be joined by newcomers David Koenders and Sarah Osborn.
"We may not be at our peak yet, but that's not our goal at this point of the year," Hammond added. "The fall semester will be about us shooting matches, learning from each competition and slowly getting back into season form. This match is a bit earlier than our typical season opener, and I think there's still a lot of adjustment going on within the team. We aren't putting pressure on ourselves this weekend. This is a learning experience, and we're excited to have our first match and to test ourselves."
The Mountaineers shot 4700 or better in every match last season, including a season-best 4726 showing in a win over Murray State (4713) on Feb. 12, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Ranked in the College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Preseason Poll for the second straight season, the Wolfpack are led by graduate student Lauren Phillips, an All-American and the reigning GARC smallbore champion.
Home to the 2018 NCAA Rifle Championships, The Citadel will play host to several teams over the course of the next two days. While three additional teams will be shooting alongside the Mountaineers Saturday, WVU only will compete against the Wolfpack, a Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) foe.
"One of our biggest goals for this weekend is to see the range and to get the experience of competing where the NCAA Championships will be," 12-year Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "Obviously, we want to start the season and our GARC season strong, but we want to use this weekend as a research trip, too, and do as much preparation as we can for postseason."
The Mountaineers are 18-0 all-time against the Wolfpack. The team opened its 2016-17 GARC season in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a 4709-4671 win over the Wolfpack on Oct. 15. WVU has won the last eight GARC Championships.
The five-time reigning NCAA Champion, four All-Americans return for WVU this season in senior Elizabeth Gratz, junior Ginny Thrasher and sophomores Milica Babic and Morgan Phillips. Babic and Phillips are the reigning NCAA air rifle and smallbore champion, respectively, and Thrasher swept the individual titles at the 2016 National Championships.
A native of Springfield, Virginia, Thrasher, a 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, paced the Mountaineers last year with season averages of 596.1 air rifle and 589.2 smallbore.
Also returning this season for WVU are junior Will Anti, sophomore Jack Anderson and redshirt-freshman Noah Barker. The team will be joined by newcomers David Koenders and Sarah Osborn.
"We may not be at our peak yet, but that's not our goal at this point of the year," Hammond added. "The fall semester will be about us shooting matches, learning from each competition and slowly getting back into season form. This match is a bit earlier than our typical season opener, and I think there's still a lot of adjustment going on within the team. We aren't putting pressure on ourselves this weekend. This is a learning experience, and we're excited to have our first match and to test ourselves."
The Mountaineers shot 4700 or better in every match last season, including a season-best 4726 showing in a win over Murray State (4713) on Feb. 12, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Ranked in the College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Preseason Poll for the second straight season, the Wolfpack are led by graduate student Lauren Phillips, an All-American and the reigning GARC smallbore champion.
Players Mentioned
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